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Bentley has passed a major milestone in the development of a limited-edition car which will reach speeds of more than 200mph.

The luxury automotive manufacturer has confirmed that the first customer engine for the Bentley Mulliner Bacalar is now complete.

Producing 650 bhp, the engine was finished at the Crewe-headquartered company's centre of excellence for W12 engines.

The Bacalar spearheads a return to coachbuilding by Bentley Mulliner and features an enhanced version of its 6.0-litre, W12 TSI engine - what it describes as the most advanced 12-cylinder engine in the world.

Each W12 engine is hand-built over 6.5 hours by a team of 45 craftspeople before undertaking a test regime of more than an hour via three specialist diagnostic machines during the engines assemble.

The Bentley Mulliner Bacalar is limited to just 12 models and each will cost £1.5m, netting £18m for the company.

The two-seater droptop was first revealed towards the start of 2020.

Bentley has said that since the first introduction of the twin-turbocharger W12 in 2003, the refinement of the engine has seen an increase of up to 27% in power, 38% in torque and a reduction of 38% in emissions.